Show and Tell on a Friday . . .

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When I was a child and still at school, one of the most exciting days of the week was Friday's when we had "Show and Tell."  This was a day when one or two of us would be invited to bring in something to show and share with the rest of the class.  It might have been something which we had received as a Gift for Christmas or a recent Birthday . . . or something which we collected . . . or something interesting which we had found.  It was one of my favourite school room activities and marked a big change from our regular curriculum!

As I am taking my own artwork into the Gallery today, I thought it would be fun to show with you some of the art which I have collected myself over these past years.    I hope that you enjoy.

 

This was the very first piece I ever bought.  It is by an artist named Diane Duda.  She has a blog here, and an etsy shop here.    She is a very successful American Artist, and this is one of her earliest works and an original, done in pencil crayons with scrap paper accents.  I was always called the Butterfly Girl when I was at school, because I loved Butterflies.  So this spoke to my heart in a special way.



This is another early piece of hers that I bought.  We were living down South when I purchased these works and I was very excited.  This is also an original, done in pencil crayon.  I don't think I paid very much for either one of them.  She sells tons of her work.  I was very lucky to get these when I did.  These days, her work sells as soon as she lists it and it's very difficult to get one of her original pieces.

 

This is a print that I purchased a few years ago from my dear friend Laurie McKnight.  Laurie is a Canadian artist and has a page here.   I don't think she sells her stuff anymore, so . . . once again . . . I was lucky to get this print.  I don't think she would mind me telling you this as she is very open about it, but Laurie is legally blind.  She has some sight but her sight is impaired because of a fall she had some years back, and is slowly worsening.  I think she's an incredible artist.  I loved this painting because it reminded me of my favourite birds . . . chickadees, and Canada.  Of all the artists whose work I have collected . . . Laurie's is my favourite.



Then there is this lovely little black and white sketch of a boy in the snow with a bird by an artist named 
Maia Chavez Larkin, from the US.  I fell in love with this.  It reminded me of the stories I used to read as a child.  It has a very magical feel about it and I loved that it was in black and white.  It's not easy to do black and white art . . . this is beautiful to me.



These next pieces are my Tollipop Girls and are prints of original works by a Canadian Artist who lives in Las Vegas, called Kirsten Kramer.  She has a blog called Tollipop which you can find here.  She doesn't seem to sell her things anymore, so I feel very blessed to have these!



They are a major focal point in our bedroom as they hang above our bed.  I love her work and it's probably good that she doesn't sell it anymore because I would just keep buying it if I could.  Her work has a very magical quality about it.  She's a brilliant story writer as well, and each painting has a unique story to go along with them.  I can't remember them now, but I do remember being very charmed with them at the time!



These next two pieces are by an Artist named Kit Chase who has an etsy shop here, and a web page here.  They are nursery prints, and I don't have a nursery . . . but they spoke to the little girl in me.   The one of the girl reading to the animals reminded me of my daily trips to the local library in the summer when I was a girl.  I was a voracious reader and still am, and I love to make up stories and pretend and to create my own magical world.  This is a magical world.



This is Little Red Riding Hood, and is an original water colour done by an American Artist named Darla Peterson who has an Etsy Shop here.   I loved this . . . I loved the story of  Little Red Riding Hood, when I was a girl.  I have a fascination with red capes, although I would never have the nerve to wear one in real life.  When I was in Grade 11 at high school, I really  really wanted this red jacket that was in the Sears Catalogue . . . it had a white lamb's wool collar and cuffs.  I thought it was beautiful. I thought I would die if I didn't have it.  My parents bought it for me. I was so happy.   I wore it once . . . and on that day I got teased about being Santa Claus . . . perhaps if it had been merely a red cape the other kids reactions would not have been so taunting . . . or mayhap I would have run into a big bad wolf.  I will never know.



This is the last piece which I have collected and it is by a Swedish Artist and Graphic designer named Maja Lindberg.  She has an Etsy Shop, here, and a web page here.    It is called Fairy Tale.  It has a very ethereal quality to it.  I loved a good fairy tale when I was a child . . . and this, too, spoke to the inner child in me.

I love these pieces which I have collected.  They are not Rembrandt's, or Van Gogh's . . . I doubt they will ever be worth a lot of money . . . but they are priceless to me because of the way they make me feel inspired . . . and the way they touch my heart.  When I look at my own work next to theirs . . . mine does not seem very good really . . .

Source: thisistouifi.tumblr.com via Nazende on Pinterest

But then again . . . art is subjective isn't it . . . what may appeal to one, may not appeal to another.  It all has value of a kind.  And so I will take my work into the Gallery today, as simple as it may seem next to these pieces I have shown you today.  Who knows . . . it may be to someone's taste!  I can't let fear of failure hold me back!

“What you create doesn’t have to be perfect. So what if the eggs are greasy or the toast is burned? Don’t let fear of failure discourage you.”
~Dieter F Uchtdorf

 
 

These may not be that attractive either, but I can assure you they are quite, quite delicious!  In the English Kitchen today . . . Oven Baked Breaded Pork Chops.

Have a good day everyone!  Til tomorrow . . .